Creamy, flavorful, and delicious Vegan Garlic Parmesan Orzo! It's the perfect side dish to serve alongside some crispy breaded chicken-style seitan or tofu and steamed or roasted vegetables. It comes together fast and in one pot!
This is the most delicious vegan orzo dish you'll ever have. I have to admit, I'm boring with my side dishes. I go for a steamed or roasted vegetable, plain rice, and my main dish. It's pretty repetitive and not very creative.
This year I have promised myself that I'm going to get more creative with my side dishes. I'll be sure to share when I come across another one as delicious as this orzo. I hope you enjoy!
Kitchen Essentials
This is a very quick vegan orzo side dish to make and super easy to clean up which is why I love it so much. All you need is a pot with a lid!
Main Ingredients
- Orzo
- Garlic
- Vegetable Broth
- Canned Coconut Milk
- Vegan Parmesan
What I Used
- Vegan Parmesan: I always always always use Violife. But follow your heart has a good vegan parmesan as well.
- Canned Coconut Milk: You'll need a good quality full-fat coconut milk. Don't use light.
- Vegetable Broth: I use the better than bouillon vegetable base but any vegetable broth will do. Just note that some are saltier than others and that's why I leave the salt up to you.
- Fresh Minced Garlic: Always use fresh garlic! It has the most flavor and tastes so much better than the pre-minced garlic and garlic powder is great but this dish needs freshly minced garlic. Trust me!
Is Orzo Pasta or Rice?
Orzo is rice-shaped pasta. It will be found with the pasta at the grocery store and not with the rice. It tastes exactly like pasta but when prepared in this recipe it's similar to a risotto dish but takes way less time.
Serving Tips
I served my Creamy Vegan Garlic Parmesan Orzo with crispy vegan chicken. I used chicken-style seitan and used the breading from my Vegan Chicken & Waffle recipe. In that recipe I used Gardein Chicken Scallopini which will also work well as the main part of this dish. You could also use that same breading recipe for tofu. Just be sure to press the tofu so it crisps up.
Tips & Tricks
Be sure to cook the onion until it's very soft and starting to brown. You could even go the extra mile and start to caramelize it a bit. This will bring in a lot of flavor.
Use fresh minced garlic! Fresh minced garlic is more flavorful than jarred. I highly recommend taking the extra few minutes to mince up a few garlic cloves.
Don't skip the coconut milk! It needs to be the canned full fat coconut milk. This is what gives the orzo a super creamy texture. The other flavors are more powerful so the coconut isn't overpowering.
I use the better than bouillon vegetable base but any vegetable broth will do for this recipe. Just note that some are saltier than others and that's why I leave the salt up to you. Salt to your preference.
More Pasta Recipes You Might Like:
- Vegan Pumpkin Mac & Cheese w/ Sage Breadcrumbs
- Roasted Cauliflower Alfredo
- Butternut Squash & Mushroom Lasagna Roll Ups
If You Make This Recipe:
Tag me on Instagram! I’d love to see your delicious re-creations and feature them! As always, I would greatly appreciate if you share your review in the comments below. Don’t forget to add if you made any fun substitutions. Thank you!
Creamy Vegan Garlic Parmesan Orzo
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 tablespoons Vegan Butter
- ¾ cup Sweet Onion minced
- 3-4 Large Garlic Cloves minced
- 1 cup Dry Orzo
- 2 cups Vegetable Broth
- 1 cup Canned Coconut Milk
- ½ cup Vegan Parmesan
- Salt & Black Pepper to taste
- Fresh Parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Add the olive oil and vegan butter to a pan on medium-high heat.
- Cook the onion for about 7-8 minutes or until soft and starting to brown. Add in the minced garlic and continue to cook for 2 minutes.
- Toss in the orzo and cook for a few more minutes. Pour in the vegetable broth, coconut milk, pinch of salt and black pepper.
- Bring to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover and stir in the vegan parmesan. Let sit for a few minutes off the heat. It will thicken as it sits. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve and enjoy!
Rachael M. says
The easiest and by far most delicious use of orzo - I love that it cooks right in the pan and absorbs all the flavor. My son asked for a third helping!
Liv says
That's so amazing to hear!! Thank you so much 🙂
Leslie H says
This is BY FAR one of my family's favorite meals–and it's incredibly easy to make!! I burn rice and risotto every time I make it, so this creamy orzo dish is a blessing for me, lol. It takes no time at all, and I can throw it on the stove and it handles itself. My soon-to-be-8-yr old is pickier than ever these days, and fights me on just about every pasta/grain/rice dish I make, but this one she DEVOURS, this is why I make it so often 🙂 It pairs well with just about anything, too!
Liv says
Thank you so much for this review! I'm so happy your daughter loves this dish! 🙂